


Inconsistent Consistently

by eternalscout



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: First Meetings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-19
Updated: 2017-04-19
Packaged: 2018-10-21 01:29:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10674894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eternalscout/pseuds/eternalscout
Summary: After three years of correspondence, Newt and Hermann decide to meet in person. It does not go well.





	Inconsistent Consistently

**Author's Note:**

> Hello. My name is eternalscout. I rewatched Pacific Rim and subsequently lost control of my life. Send help.

There were few things that could stop Newt once he set his mind to something. From the moment he realized Hermann Gottlieb had  written the programming code for the Mark-1 series of Jaegers, he’d been determined to meet the man. Really, the only thing stopping him was his friends okay-ish advice against immediately stalking and hunting him down.

They should give him  _ some _ credit. He wasn’t  _ that _ much of a creeper. Instead he’d managed to pinpoint where Gottlieb was presently assigned via a means that would have upset HR if they’d found out. It wasn’t  _ his _ fault they didn’t have sufficient security to keep people from tracking down difficult to find scientists with no social media profiles. Newt had even scoured LinkedIn of all things. And he’d had to make his own profile to do it!

Really, who didn’t use social media in this day and age?

Mission Locate Rogue Scientist had been a success and Newt had sent the first of what became three years of regular correspondence. Y’know, after he’d answered all the typical “who are you,” “how did you get my contact information,” and “what do you want” sort of questions.

Hey, at least he’d used Gottlieb’s work address as opposed to the personal address that had also been in his files. That  _ really _ would have been crossing a line.

Newt had gradually whittled away at Gottlieb’s defenses over the years. He’d started off by reassuring Gottlieb that he wasn’t a serial killer, moved into flattery regarding his work, and then had dug deep into his personal life with well placed and seemingly innocuous questions. Even so, he could scarcely believe his own eyes when he finally got  _ the _ letter.

He’d saved his rejoicing until after he’d booked his flight to California. Gottlieb had been moved to the new Los Angeles Shatterdome and, as luck would have it, so had Tendo. After much begging, Tendo had agreed to let him stay in his quarters for the duration of his short visit. Newt had been hoping to stay longer, but since he was presently stationed at the Sydney Shatterdome, a good chunk of his mini-vacation was dedicated solely to travel.

He and Tendo weren’t close, per se, but they had gone to the Jaeger Academy together. They’d struck up the sort of friendship typically brought on by too little sleep and too much work. In other words, they’d become drinking buddies. By the end of their training, they had upgraded to spending the majority of their laughably little free time together, though communication between them had waned after they were sent their separate ways.

With Tendo working, Newt had to make his way from the airport to the Shatterdome on his own. By the time he arrived, Tendo was coming off of his shift, and met him at the doors of the Shatterdome.

“Hey!” Newt shouted, waving to him from a distance that didn’t require shouting or waving.

Tendo rolled his eyes, but didn’t comment, instead nodding in greeting. “You wanna drop off your stuff and get some dinner? Or do you need some time to take care of the jet lag?”

“Pfft, I’m not jetlagged,” Newt retorted as he followed Tendo inside.

“Probably because you’re practically vibrating with all the caffeine you’ve had,” Tendo said, taking in his bloodshot eyes and mildly manic energy.

“How’d you know I had caffeine?”

“Lucky guess,” he said, walking him through the maze-like corridors. “You never did tell me what you were coming to LA for, y’know. I figured with how desperate you were to get here, it had to be a girl.” He studied Newt, lips pursing. “Or a guy.”

“It is a guy! But...not like that. Not that I would necessarily say no to that. I mean, I guess it depends on how everything goes. I think it’ll go well though. We’ve been talking to each other for three years now. There’s no way this could go wrong!”

“Famous last words.”

He unlocked the door to his quarters. Newt stepped inside after him, he was struck by how similar Tendo’s quarters were to his own back in Australia. Then again, the Shatterdomes had been built purely with functionality in mind.

There was one glaring difference though.

“How’d you rate such a big room?” Newt demanded, setting his backpack down. 

The frayed backpack had clearly seen better days. At present it was stuffed to the brim and listed drunkenly to one side where it sat on the floor. A variety of pins and buttons were stuck to it, most depicting the names and logos of metal bands. One of the straps looked as if it had been partially chewed through and seemed to be holding itself together through sheer willpower alone.

“From what I understand, they only give small rooms to the crazies,” Tendo said with a grin.

“Shut up!” he retorted.

Newt crossed his arms as he scowled at him, foot tapping faster than seemed humanly possible.

“So you wanna tell me what guy brought you all the way out here?” 

As he spokehe checked himself in the mirror. 

Why he had to was beyond Newt. There was so much product in the man’s hair, if a kaiju burst through the wall right now, Newt had no doubt every strand would remain perfectly in place. He became acutely aware of the fact his own hair was mussed and likely standing on end after his failed attempts to sleep on the plane.

“Earth to Newt,” Tendo said, waving a hand in his face.

Newt jumped, scowling harder. “Hermann Gottlieb.”

That brought Tendo up short. His brows shot up to his hairline. “ _ You’re _ here to see Hermann Gottlieb?”

“What’s that supposed to mean? I already told you we’ve been talking for the past three years!”

Tendo stared at him as if he’d grown a second head. “I’m gonna go out on a limb here and assume you’ve never actually been in the same room before. Or even in the same video call.”

“Ha, ha, very funny. Why?”

Tendo considered the question a moment before offering, “Let’s just say that if the two of you were put on a spectrum, you’d be at completely opposite ends.”

“How d’you figure that?”

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll find out soon enough. You ready to get some food?”

Newt bobbed his head, pausing midstep toward the door. “Wait, does he eat here too?”

“Who? Gottlieb? Of course he eats here. Everyone eats here. Well, unless you enjoy actual food and can afford to go out on the regular. If you thought LA was expensive before the kaiju, you won’t believe how much everything is now.”

“I’ve never actually been to LA before,” Newt admitted, backtracking to the mirror.

He ran his fingers through his hair, bringing some semblance of order to it. Tendo’s reflection winced.

“You want a comb or something?”

“Nah, I’m good.”

Tendo didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t comment as they started back out of his quarters. 

“So you’ve met him then?”

“Who? Gottlieb?”

“Yeah!”

“Of course I’ve met him,” Tendo answered as they turned the corner and continued toward the cafeteria. 

“So?”

“So, what?”

Newt huffed, looping around in front of him so he could face him as he walked. The halls were empty enough that he wasn’t too concerned about tripping over his own feet or running into someone. 

“So, what’s he like!”

“I already told you. He’s the exact opposite of you.”

“Oh yeah, real helpful,” Newt groused. “You wanna try giving me some actual information?”

Tendo didn’t answer as they passed through the cafeteria doors, though he did take the time to turn Newt back around so that he could get one of the trays. Newt grabbed one, sighing as he picked his way through the available options. He’d been hoping the food here would be different from the food in Sydney. Apparently not. The Shatterdomes must have a monopoly on goop and stuff that looked like meat. Even with an open port. Then again, eating virtually the same thing every day in slightly varying flavors had left him a little salty.

They finished filling up their trays and Newt grabbed two extra rolls before taking a seat at one of the empty tables. The Shatterdomes were still filling out as people joined the Jaeger Program and funding increased for the project overall. Newt was looking forward to more people coming onboard. Maybe then the Shatterdomes wouldn't feel like giant hollow shells. 

Tendo prodded at meat of unidentifiable origin on his tray with his fork. “You want some real information?”

“How many times do I have to tell you that before you actually listen to me?” Newt demanded before promptly stuffing a roll into his mouth.

Tendo stared at him a moment before shaking his head. “Definitely don’t do that if you’re eating with him. He’s very….”

“Very…?” he asked through a mouthful of bread.

“Proper. By the book. To be honest, he’s kind of boring.”

“Boring?” Newt echoed, dumbfounded. “How is that possible? He wrote the programming code for the Mark-1! How can someone who helped create giant robots be boring?!”

“He’s a huge nerd like you. You’re just better at hiding it.”

“Hey!”

“If the shoe fits, wear it.”

That said, he started on his dinner. Newt fell quiet in favor of easing the ache in his stomach. He hadn’t eaten in almost twelve hours. Well, unless coffee counted as eating. He’d had plenty of coffee. And five hour energies. He was living proof of the fact that drinking more than one five hour energy at a time did not in fact give you energy for 10+ hours.

He should probably sleep before he met up with Gottlieb tomorrow.

“You want some advice?” Tendo asked as he finished his dinner.

“Yes!”

“Just try to be as un-Newt-like as possible.”

Newt licked the last of what he assumed was gravy off of the back of his spoon. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Not a chance. Dress up, maybe don’t drink a two liter of coffee beforehand, and try to breathe while you’re talking. You did bring something a little nicer than chucks, tight pants, and a hoodie, right?”

“For the last time, there is nothing wrong with my pants, Mr. Suspenders and Bow Tie.”

“You’re just jealous.” 

Tendo stood up to take care of his trash and empty tray. Newt shoved his last roll into his mouth as he followed. Despite all his insistence that Tendo was being ridiculous, he was starting to feel a little worried. 

By the time they reached Tendo’s room again, he found it easy to push his worries to the side in favor of collapsing into a minor coma on the foldable cot Tendo had provided.

 

**\---**

 

Despite Newt’s best efforts not to let Tendo get into his head, he found himself spending an inordinate amount of time in front of the mirror the next evening. He’d even gone out and purchased something more “Gottlieb friendly,” as he liked to call it. He should’ve just gone in the clothes he’d packed and shown Tendo how wrong he was, and yet…

“Looking sharp,” Tendo offered as he came into the room. 

Newt felt his face warm and he shot him a look. He’d settled for a pair of new black jeans, as well as an honest to god white button up shirt. He’d even gotten rid of his hoodie in favor of a leather jacket he’d offered his firstborn for. Or at least that’s what it felt like. He knew Australia was even worse when it came to how much things cost, but he hadn’t actually had to buy anything there yet. He liked to think this little trip would help prepare him for the inevitable sticker shock.

“You think so?” he prompted, patting his hair one more time.

He’d considered using one of Tendo’s many hair potions, but had decided against it. He could barely control his hair as it was. He had showered and run a comb through it though. 

“So where are you meeting him?” Tendo asked, dropping onto the bed. 

“This German place about a ten minute walk from here. It’s called Romhilda. He says it’s pretty authentic. I mean, I wouldn’t really know. I didn’t exactly grow up there and my dad’s a terrible cook.”

“Says the guy who could burn water.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot you were working as a master chef now.”

Tendo threw his pillow at him and Newt ducked, throwing his arms up to protect his hair.

“Hey, man! Knock it off!”

Tendo laughed, turning his attention to his phone while Newt walked out of the room, hands up in a protective shield behind his head. Thankfully Tendo didn’t try a second time. He breathed a sigh of relief as he closed the door and started down the hall and out of the building.

It didn’t take him nearly as long as Gottlieb said to make it to the restaurant. It was easy enough to find since there didn’t seem to be anything similar anywhere nearby. Gottlieb had also given very specific instructions on how to reach it from the Shatterdome, though Newt was a little bummed they hadn’t gotten to meet beforehand and that they hadn’t gotten to walk there together. 

Reaching the restaurant, Newt made his way inside. It wasn’t all that crowded, since most people hadn’t yet gotten off of work. Apparently Gottlieb was a fan of the early bird special. He’d said he was in his twenties, hadn’t he? Or had Newt just assumed as much? Outside of their letters, he hadn’t been able to find anything on Gottlieb other than the fact he was the son of Lars Gottlieb and was responsible for the Mark-1 programming.

Oh, hell, he didn’t even know what the guy looked like. His HR file hadn’t included a photo. Shit. How was he supposed to recognize him? Or vice versa?

Newt scanned the open space in front of him, taking in the brick walls and exposed beams in the ceiling. Despite Tendo’s claims that Gottlieb was on the frumpier side, the place was surprisingly modern. It was a little nicer than where Newt typically found himself, but it was definitely a place you could sit back, relax, and enjoy the nightlife. Preferably  _ after _ 5pm and barring any kaiju attacks.

No one immediately jumped out at Newt and he took a seat at one of the many empty tables. Against Tendo’s strict instructions, he took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves. Was it hot in here, or was he just really fucking nervous?

He was early for once in his life, so he expected to be kept waiting. Even so, he began tapping his foot in an almost frenzied manner. He took out his phone, trying and failing to be distracted by it. Finally, just as he thought he was going to lose his mind, he caught someone approaching him out of the corner of his eye.

Newt’s head jerked in the guy’s direction so fast that he almost lost his glasses. While the guy looked like he could be in his twenties, he also looked like he could be in his thirties or forties. Especially with the cane and grandpa clothes. Newt blinked when he finally came to a stop in front of him, staring down at his tattoos.

“They’re pretty cool, huh?” Newt offered by way of greeting.

“That is not the word I would use,” he sneered in answer. “Have you no decency?”

Newt frowned, moving to his feet. Like hell was he going to let this guy stand over him and talk shit about his tattoos. Standing didn’t really help though. He was still at a disadvantage height-wise. He straightened his spine, hoping his hair made up the difference.

“Excuse me? You’re the one who just wandered over here to talk about how shitty you think my tattoos are. I’m pretty sure that’s the definition of ‘no decency,’ grandpa.”

“I can only assume you think that they are ‘cool’ because you have yet to lose anything or anyone to the kaiju,” he snapped back. 

“You don’t know anything about me!”

“If I had to guess, I would say you were a kaiju groupie. That would indicate not only a lack of common sense, but a lack of a brain as well. You’re likely here to join the suicidal buffoons protesting to grant the monsters rights.”

“For your information,” Newt began, voice shooting up in pitch and volume, earning the attention of the few patrons seated around them. “I have six doctorates and I’m currently assigned to the Sydney Shatterdome!”

There was a long pause, the stranger looking like he’d been slapped. Newt felt triumphant until the man’s face became completely devoid of emotion. That couldn’t be good.

“I see,” he finally said. “Then I suggest you return to Sydney, Dr. Geiszler.”

That said, he spun on his heel with far more grace than Newt would have expected, making his way to the door. It was only after the man had stepped out and onto the street that Newt remembered he hadn’t introduced himself. Realization slowly dawned on him and his jaw went slack. He didn’t even notice Tendo had come in until he was by his side.

“That went about as well as I expected,” Tendo said, patting him on the shoulder.

“ _ That _ was Hermann Gottlieb?”

“I tried to warn you.”

Newt slowly shook his head, still staring sightlessly at the door.

“I figured I’d swing by for moral support, but he was already storming out when I reached the restaurant. Guess I should’ve known the two of you wouldn’t last five minutes in the same room.” Tendo paused, glancing down at Newt’s bare forearms. “Ah.”

“Ah?” Newt echoed, finally turning to him.

He gave his shoulder a brief squeeze. “Hey, at least you’re practically on the other side of the world. It’s not like the two of you are going to run into each other again.”

Fury gradually overwhelmed his shock and Newt scowled. “I can’t believe I came all the way here for that asshole! Plane tickets aren’t cheap!”

“Did you at least get to ask him about his research?” 

“I don’t care about his stupid research anymore! Or him, for that matter!”

Tendo looked like he wanted to say something but stopped himself, instead nodding. “Yeah. But you’re still here for another day, aren’t you?”

Newt nodded in an almost aggressive manner.

“So forget about him. I’ll show you around LA and then you can get some sleep before your flight back to Sydney.”

He didn’t immediately answer, his eyes on his tattoos. 

“You all right?”

“Huh? Yeah. Let’s get the hell out of here,” Newt said, striding purposefully toward the doors.

Tendo grinned, hurrying after him. “If it makes you feel any better, I don’t think Gottlieb likes anyone. I don’t know how he gets any work done with how many complaints he sends to HR.”

“Tendo, my man, I don’t want to ever hear that name again.”

And if Newt spent the rest of his evening alternating between staring at his tattoos and getting uproariously drunk, Tendo was a good enough friend to pretend he didn’t notice.


End file.
